16. Jerry Lee Lewis, ‘Live at the Star Club, Hamburg’ (1964)
16. Jerry Lee Lewis, ‘Live at the Star Club, Hamburg’ (1964)
Recorded at one of the Hamburg clubs where the Beatles cut their teeth two years earlier, Live at the Star Club remains one of the most electrifying performances from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's inaugural class. The concert took place six years after the rock icon's career plummeted after the public learned he had married his 13-year-old cousin, but at age 28, Lewis was at a musical peak. He blazes through "Great Balls of Fire" in less than two minutes and sounds like he's dismantling his piano in "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On." And on wild covers of "Money" and "Hound Dog," he slays the audience who cheer throughout. "Oh man, that was a big monster record," he said in his 2014 semi-autobiography. Kory Grow